Manager, Digital Client Services (Maternity Cover)

Overall Purpose of the Role

The Disney Advertising portfolio covers world leading brands within The Walt Disney Company's Media Networks segment and related IP’s.  This includes family favorites Disney, Pixar, Marvel, & Lucasfilm as well as general entertainment networks ABC, Star, & FX, the worldwide leader in sports, ESPN, and our iconic factual brand, National Geographic.

The Client Services Manager is an important member of the London-based EMEA ad sales and operations organization. We are seeking a candidate that can add their extensive knowledge and acumen in media planning, campaign management, ad operations, and leadership to a client services group supporting an experienced and diverse set of multi-platform salespeople.

Designed to maximize revenue, drive operational efficiency, and provide top tier sales and partner support, the Client Services team plays a vital role in reaching our targets and maintaining high standards in relationships with advertisers and agencies. The successful candidate will lead a group of Account Managers that plan and execute the operational elements of the advertising campaigns we sell.  It begins with pre-sale guidance and media planning, and continues through campaign set up, analysis, optimization, reporting, and invoicing, covering all forms of advertising activity across our digital properties.  There will be a specific focus on video advertising within our flagship product, Disney+, as well as additional digital assets: websites, apps, and social platforms.

The team leader will ensure our Account Managers are providing excellent support, delivering successful campaigns, and helping our clients unlock the full potential of our brands and products.  They will foster an inclusive, positive, and high-performing culture, requiring strong personal accountability, prioritization and organizational skills, stakeholder management, and strategic thinking.  They will work with Sales leads to manage campaign pipelines, extract maximum yield from our inventory, and develop revenue-generating initiatives and opportunities.

The candidate will have a strong understanding of the digital media landscape, with specific expertise in video, programmatic, and CTV advertising.  They will have team management experience and a track record of campaign planning and execution for a wide variety of clients.  They will be able to balance ‘in-the-weeds’ tasks with higher level strategic planning.  They will have an intrinsic desire to exceed client expectations and continually push for innovation and efficiency, while relishing the opportunity to solve problems, big or small.

This role requires someone to be in our Hammersmith offices 4 days a week. Note: This is a maternity cover position.

Areas of Responsibility

• Lead team of Account Managers in supporting assigned salespeople and associated clients through all phases of the campaign lifecycle, from planning to invoicing

• Responsible for delivering successful media plans that maximize revenue, meet client objectives, and spur repeat business

• Develop a high-performing team that takes pride in the quality of its work, while also prioritizing inclusion, personal development, positivity, and a healthy work/life balance

• Assign team workload and assist in campaign management where necessary

• Able to perform all tasks related to campaign management, specifically inventory forecasting, media plan creation, order entry, trafficking, optimizing, reporting, and invoicing

• Ensure Account Managers are fully trained on campaign execution and able to answer all related questions

• Act as main point of contact for any escalations on complex challenges or requests regarding inventory, ad products, or campaigns

• Assist Sales, Finance, and Accounting in revenue tracking

• Troubleshoot and resolve ad delivery, ad quality, and technical issues, liaising with global Ad Platforms support

• Test potential ad tech vendor integrations and provide input on contract negotiations

• Ideate, implement, review, and evolve operational processes that drive quality and efficiency

• Analyze usage & performance of digital inventory to develop strategies & products that maximize revenue yield

• Work with other Client Services team managers to implement solutions that benefit the wider organization

• Manage, mentor, and develop talent, including training of new hires

• Create and update internal documentation to explain processes and best practices

• Collaborate with global teams and act as regional center of excellence for other offices across EMEA

• Maintain a strong understanding of TWDC’s ad tech stack and strategy, and follow industry developments

• Assist management and senior leadership on ad-hoc assignments

Areas of Accountability

Reports to Sr. Manager, Client Services for all surrounding KPI’s and team objectives

Experience and Professional Qualifications Required

• Graduate level or equivalent experience

• 5+ years of overall experience in the advertising sector, either publisher/agency side or in ad tech

• Team management experience

• Expert on defining and evolving processes

• Highly competent in forecasting, planning, trafficking, and managing ad campaigns for display and video across websites, apps, social platforms, and connected TV environments

• Demonstrated ability in activating campaigns, producing accurate and relevant insights, and optimizing performance

• Strong understanding of programmatic advertising, technologies that power it, and key vendors in the space

• Familiar with general data protection and privacy requirements related to digital advertising

• Able to represent company in external meetings and events

• Media or entertainment brand experience is beneficial, as is familiarity with processes and policies of a multinational corporation

Skills Required

• Highly motivated and driven problem solver

• Great attention to detail, organizational skills, and ability to effectively prioritize and balance multiple projects simultaneously

• Analytical; able to review, assess, and strategize based on the results

• Able to step back and look at scenarios at a macro level, solving the immediate challenge and providing long-term solutions

• Natural team leader and teacher, able to foster a positive, inclusive culture

• Motivated to lead by example and hold others accountable to high standards

• Comfortable working independently or collaboratively with reports, peers, and senior executives

• Revenue-minded, but not at the expense of our people

• Always focused on our guests and prioritizing the user experience

• Confident communicator with good presentation skills, able to speak on behalf of the team internally and externally

• Excited to work in a global organization with stakeholders across the world

• Ability to navigate the digital advertising industry and maintain relationships with publishers, broadcasters, agencies, advertisers, and tech vendors

• In-depth understanding of digital media and the advertising industry, particularly video and within EMEA

• IT savvy across core business applications and remote working tools (Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, Slack, Zoom)